1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to fishing tackle and equipment, and more specifically to an improved sinker release device for fishing.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the sport of fishing, particularly lake and ocean fishing, it is often necessary to use a weight or sinker to direct and keep the bait or lure at an appropriate depth. However, when a sinker is attached and remains attached to a fishing line after a fish is hooked, it is more difficult for the fisherman to successfully land the fish. Accordingly, it is desirable to be able to release the sinker after the fish has been hooked. Several devices have been designed to accomplish this task, but many are inefficient, prone to failure, or too expensive for practical use. Perhaps as significantly, the prior art devices are manufactured to release the sinker under a very limited range of pulling forces caused by a hooked fish. For example, some devices will release the sinker when too light a fish is hooked or, just as defectively, will fail to release the sinker even when a suitably sized fish is hooked. It is therefore desirable to have a fishing sinker release apparatus with some means to adjust the force required to release the sinker; that way, a fisherman could conveniently and easily tailor the apparatus to release the sinker under precisely specified levels of pulling force.